I was up well before the chickens this morning.I picked up a friend at the airport. He traveled here, to Guam to attend our Ministry Equipping Conference. This year's conference is on disciple-making. My friend has been involved in working with others, especially teens, encouraging them to follow the Lord. Working with people isn't like working with clay. We people aren't nearly as moldable. Nor are we like concrete or plaster. If you can manage to get concrete into the right shape for a few hours, it will hold that form for many years. No, when God created us, He gave us a will. If we exercised our bodies as much as we do our wills, we'd be in much better shape.
My friend is broken-hearted. Some of those with whom he has been working have chosen another path. My friend isn't the first to face this problem. The Apostle Paul experienced the same  sadness as my friend when he commented to Timothy, "Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me" (2 Timothy 4:10). When Jesus asked Peter and the others, "You do not want to go too, do you?" it was an acknowledgment that they could turn away if they chose to.
Following the Great Commission of our Lord, is not like cutting out Jesus-followers with a disciple cookie-cutter. It's more like wrestling or trying to get somewhere in a small boat in the midst of a big storm. The outcome, from where we sit, isn't clear.
If I start passing on what God has given me to another, do I have any guarantee that they will turn out right? No, absolutely not. But there is likely someone in my sphere of influence whom I can influence. Maybe I'm the only one who can. If I don't teach them, pray with them, do life with them, and encourage them to follow the Lord, then for sure they won't.
My friend will be around a few days. I'll probably quote Galatians 6:9 to him. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
It's STTA.
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